Southern California -- this just in

3 BART stations shut down amid San Francisco protest

August 15, 2011 | 6:33
pm

Three BART stations in San Francisco were shut down Monday evening amid a protest against alleged brutality by transit agency police.

Police also closed a portion of Market Street to traffic as the protesters moved east from the Civic Center BART station where the demonstrations began, affecting the evening commute, authorities said. The Civic Center, Montgomery and Powell Street BART stations were shut down.

Market Street, one of the city's busiest thoroughfares, was clogged with rush-hour traffic as police cars, lights flashing and sirens wailing, responded to quell the protest.

At the Civic Center Station, protesters waved signs and shouted, "No Justice, No Peace!" as police in riot gear tried to push them back onto the station platform. No arrests were reported.

People were angry that the transit agency cut underground cellular phone service for three hours last week in an effort to quell a protest over alleged BART Police brutality and the shootings of Charles Blair Hill and Oscar Grant by transit police.